BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Police formally charged a male from St. Kitts for the offence of Rape. The offence occurred on November 30, 2020. The individual was charged on January 15, 2021 and has been remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison.

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WASHINGTON, DC — The Department of State is proud to support the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Operation Southern Cross as part of our efforts to build regional maritime security partnerships and counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the South Atlantic. The multi-month inaugural deployment of the new USCG Legend-class National Security Cutter, the Stone (WMSL 758), will strengthen cooperation and enhance security throughout the region.

In Guyana on January 9, the USCG Cutter Stone and the Guyanese Defense Force Coast Guard engaged in a series of cooperative exercises that support combatting IUU fishing, the first such operations conducted in conjunction with a new shiprider agreement ratified in 2020.

The USCG Cutter Stone will next partner with the Brazilian Navy on joint patrols, making port calls in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. The Stone will also visit Montevideo, Uruguay, the first visit of a U.S. Coast Guard ship in over a decade. For its southernmost stop, the Stone will visit Mar del Plata, Argentina for a ceremonial welcome by the Coast Guard’s sister service, the Argentine Naval Prefecture before the cutter returns home. An observer from the Portuguese navy is embarked on the Stone, supporting its crew and the Operation daily.

While underway, the USCG Cutter Stone will also perform the full range of USCG statutory missions as circumstances warrant. The Stone crew has already interdicted one go-fast vessel in the Caribbean, seizing over 900 kilograms of cocaine on January 7 south of the Dominican Republic.

The United States is a global leader in efforts to tackle IUU fishing, including through work in multilateral institutions to strengthen the rules governing international fisheries and bilateral engagement with the world’s coastal, port, and market States. The value of global capture fish production in 2018 was over $151 billion, and it is estimated that IUU fishing results in tens of billions of dollars of lost revenue every year.

IUU fishing jeopardizes global food security, destabilizes the economic security of coastal States, and violates state sovereignty by undermining international agreements and fisheries conservation measures. In the South Atlantic, we encourage our regional partners to be vigilant as we work together to protect the waters we share, and we urge our partners to both ratify and implement international measures such as the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures.

Operation Southern Cross is the Coast Guard’s first patrol to the South Atlantic in recent memory.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Police have formally arrested and charged 35-year-old Tabari Roberts of Lower Thibou Avenue, McKnight for the murder of Lamonte Heyliger and Jahquan Merritt.

The offences occurred on January 11, 2021, at Lower Thibou Avenue. He was charged on January 15, 2021, and has been remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — An autopsy was performed on the body of 18-year-old Jahquan Merritt of Fort Thomas Road, McKnight on January 15.

Resident Pathologist, Dr. Adrian Nuñez concluded that Merritt’s death was as a result of severe head injury due to a single gunshot wound to the head.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — An autopsy was performed on the body of 19-year-old Lamonte Heyliger of Shear Lane, McKnight on January 15.

Resident Pathologist, Dr. Adrian Nuñez concluded that Heylinger’s death was as a result of hypovolemic shock due to multiple gunshot wounds.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — A three-member team of senior officials from the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) has expressed gratitude and commended the Coast Guard, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, and the surgical team at the Alexandra Hospital in Nevis for their quick response in assisting one of their students who suffered significant injury in a shark attack.

The officials passed on compliments from the trauma team in the US to the medical team on the island. They said the surgery was comparable to anything that could have been performed anywhere in the US. They also said that the quick response prevented the situation from being far worse.
Commander of the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force, Lieutenant Colonel J. Anthony Comrie, thanked the team for its compliments. He said he was happy that the training which his officers received was put into action and glad they could assist the student.

The virtual meeting was attended by Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris; Cabinet Secretary, Josephine Huggins; Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws; Medical Chief of Staff at the JNF General Hospital, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson; Commissioner of Police, Hilroy Brandy; and Lieutenant Colonel, J. Anthony Comrie.

Prime Minister Harris expressed thanks to the RUSVM officials for their words of commendation for the high level of support and professionalism of the government team both at the federal level and the Nevis Island Administration.

Prime Minister Harris indicated that the strong bonds between the Government and the RUSVM will be further strengthened.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Federal Cabinet in St. Kitts and Nevis is establishing a committee to provide advice on the implementation of Universal Health Insurance (UHI).

The move is the latest step by the government to introduce a robust insurance programme that would provide quality health insurance to the population. The initiative is a costly venture as estimates place the price tag between $143 million and $181 million.

“Consideration may have to be given to salary deductions from individuals,” said Eugene Hamilton, the Minister responsible for National Health Insurance. “In other words, how it is going to be funded, what benefits are we going to provide, when it will start and on what legislative framework will it stand. Those are the things which will come from a new committee put in place this year to ensure that Universal Health Insurance becomes a reality.”

The minister’s was commenting at the Prime Minister’s Monthly Press Conference on January 14. He said that the expectation is for UHI to be implemented shortly after the committee completes its work. The minister reminded citizens that the country and other nations around the world continue to grapple with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said it has influenced the measured approach being taken by the government.

“We are very cautious, we are careful, we are very deliberate in what we do in implementing Universal Health Insurance,” said Hamilton.

The enormity of introducing such a comprehensive and transformative programme was compared to other historical, landmark decisions such as purchasing plantation lands, introducing a Citizenship by Investment Programme, constructing the then Southeast Peninsula Road, known as the Kennedy A. Simmonds Highway, and establishing a Social Security Fund.

Minister Hamilton said these decisions were ahead of their time and have positively impacted the development of the country.

“Universal Health Insurance is in that category,” said Hamilton. He called on the public to fully support the programme.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, said his ministry is still actively pursuing the Ritz-Carlton Project. The Ritz-Carlton has been seeking to expand in the Caribbean region.

“What I can say with respect to the Ritz-Carlton is that we have been engaged with them for a very long time,” said Minister Grant during the Prime Minister’s Monthly Press Conference held at the National Emergency Management Agency Conference Room on January 14.

“I updated the Cabinet this week with respect to the Ritz-Carlton, and ongoing discussions and negotiations,” said Hon. Grant. “The Ritz-Carlton is a huge project; it’s a project that is destined to be over US $200 million and it is taking time.”

“Because of the pandemic, things have slowed, however, I am advised that very shortly we will be able to be in a position to come to the country and give some further details on that,” said Grant.

The Ritz-Carlton announced in 2018 that it will develop 10 villas and 15 condominiums that are sustainable and have responsible comfort in the St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel chain.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, the Honourable Akilah Byron-Nisbett, said that both islands of St. Kitts and Nevis will benefit from the digital transformation efforts of the government because it is a federal undertaking.

Minister Byron-Nisbett was at the time speaking at the Prime Minister’s Press Conference held on January 14 at the National Emergency Management Agency Conference Room.

“Just this morning, the Prime Minister would have spoken to the restructuring that is taking place at it relates to the Federal Office in Nevis,” said Hon. Mrs. Byron-Nisbett. “There are services at the federal level that will be offered through that office as well as are other engagements that will take place there that would require access to the information at the federal level.”

“This means that whatever is done on St. Kitts must be replicated in Nevis to ensure a smooth transition of information and that that information is shared across both islands,” said Mrs. Byron-Nisbett. “It will also ensure that anyone accessing the information or services in Nevis have the same type of services that is in St. Kitts.

“The government has begun the first phase of its transformation efforts, which includes the whole of government strategy and the cybersecurity strategy,” said Mrs. Byron-Nisbett. “Just last week, we began the different interviews and meetings with various ministries and departments across government to get an idea of where the different ministries are in terms of their transformation efforts and their IT so that we can get a better understanding of where we are going.

“The government has also reached out to different departments and ministries in Nevis that offer some level of federal services,” she said. “They are still waiting on confirmation on when we can have interviews with them.”

She said the meetings and interviews have been going well so far.

“We’ve touched on a good cross-section of ministries, including the Ministries of Health, Information and Communication Technologies, the Inland Revenue Department and Ministry of Finance,” said Mrs. Byron-Nisbett. “The interviews are ongoing.”

The Cable is assisting the government in the roll-out of its Government Wide Area Network.

“This means the fibre runs necessary to connect all of our ministries and departments together, the infrastructure necessary to be able to roll out the necessary services, platforms and applications that would sit on that network to provide the digital services that are required,” said Mrs. Byron-Nisbett.

Minister Byron-Nisbett said that in recent discussions with The Cable, they have been trying to determine the best route to run the fibre lines between St. Kitts and Nevis.

As part of its digital transformation efforts, the government will also roll out Wi-Fi to all community centres as early as next week. This is also in collaboration with The Cable.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Suggestions that there are plans to raise Social Security deductions in St. Kitts and Nevis have been categorically denied by Minister with Responsibility for Social Security, the Hon. Eugene Hamilton.

“There have been no announcements of any increases in any deductions for persons contributing to Social Security,” said Hon. Hamilton. He dismissed the topic as a “rumour which has spread across the country,” on January 14, during the Prime Minister’s monthly press conference held at the National Emergency Management Agency Conference Room.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, also addressed the matter.

“There has been no announcement of a 13 percent deduction with respect to Social Security announced in the Budget Address,” Dr. Harris said referring to his presentation to the Federal Parliament on December 15, 2020.

“I am not sure where that comes from,” said Dr. Harris. “There has been no change for the record, in any of the deductions as it relates to Social Security. What is now, applied then, so there is no change that would have been announced with respect to that.”

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